Square actually did make an official PC version of FF8's card game, it was included with something called "FF8 Desktop Accessories" full of screensavers and such.
Anyway FF9 card game >> FF8 card game. The random element just makes tactics more interesting since you have to make "contingency plans" in case you lose a card battle. In FF8 a stronger deck is pretty much guaranteed to win against a weaker one, which makes most matches boring, and the gameplay loop too often consists of scanning the numbers repeatedly to look for an opening, which is lame since it's the sort of thing a computer should be doing (Same/Plus rules make this even worse). FF9 you have to be on your toes even with a better deck, and you can also reach for a shutout where you get all the cards.
The cool thing about FF8's card game was how it was integrated into the game, with being able to card monsters, turn cards into items, and coolest of all, the "house rules" system. Unfortunately while the concept of the house rules system is an awesome idea, the actual rules sucked for the most part.